Search form

News

Take Time to Understand the Value of Water

Posted October 12, 2017

Today, GRW joins more than 700 organizations across the country in recognizing Imagine a Day Without Water. The event, organized by the Value of Water, helps raise awareness about challenges facing water systems from coast to coast. Like you, we see how water is essential to our daily lives and the nation's economy; it's important that we strive not to take access to safe and reliable water for granted.

According to the organizers of today's event and the Value of Water Campaign, every economic sector relies on water. For example, they report: "A single nationwide day without water service would put $43.5 billion of economic activity at risk. Hospitals and firefighters require water to keep us healthy and safe. A day without water would be nothing short of a humanitarian, political, and economic crisis."

Recently, the impact lack of water service has on human lives can be seen in the aftermath of the hurricanes, which knocked out water service in places like Puerto Rico and elsewhere. According to a report on CNN's website, "The drinking water situation is particularly dire. Thirty-six percent of Puerto Ricans are without potable water. That's more than 1.2 million people who are struggling to find a most critical resource."

The Value of Water Campaign notes, "The problems that face our drinking water and wastewater systems are multi-faceted. The infrastructure is aging and in need of investment, having gone underfunded for decades.

A few other facts reported by the organizers:

The average American uses 176 gallons of water per day—that’s 64,240 gallons a year!

40% of water in America is used to produce the food we eat and the beverages we drink.

• How is water used in your home? On average, 17% goes toward showering, 27% is used by the toilet, your faucet drains 15%, your clothes washer another 22%, miscellaneous needs take up 5%, and those pesky leaks steal another 14%.

If drinking water and soda pop cost equally, your water bill would skyrocket more than 10,000%.

Sixty-one percent of Americans rely on lakes, rivers, and streams as their source of drinking water. The other 39% rely on groundwater—water located underground in aquifers and wells.

According to Radhika Fox, Director of the Value of Water Campaign and CEO of the US Water Alliance, "Over 80 percent of Americans believe that rebuilding our nation's infrastructure should be a top priority for our elected officials."